The Doherty amplifiers capable of covering the entire UHF TV band from NXP that I reported on last November (see NXP Develops Broadband Doherty UHF Amp) are now in production.
Samples of the BLF884P (and BL884PS) and (BLF884PS data sheet) are available immediately to qualified customers. No price was given in the NXP press release. A picture of the reference design amplifier is available. You will notice there are multiple traces that allow the phasing line on the output of the amplifier to be adjusted.
Both devices are rated for 350 Watts dissipation and are capable of operating at a drain efficiency of 45 to 50 percent.
“By leveraging NXP’s expertise and IP in Doherty architectures, we’ve been able to design a unique ultra-wideband Doherty solution which achieves high efficiency without incurring additional costs, or delaying time to market,” said Mark Murphy, director of marketing for RF power and base stations at NXP Semiconductors.
He noted that with a single Doherty design, full coverage of the 470 to 806 MHz band was possible.
“In testing our first high-bandwidth Doherty power amplifiers, our lead customers have been able to demonstrate tremendous efficiency gains, further validating our approach,” said Murphy. “Given the immense pressure to deliver richer content via high-performance TV transmitters, we believe that the impact of ultra-wideband Doherty architectures on the overall digital broadcast market will be wide-ranging. At an average DVB-T power level of 70 Watts, the BLF884P/PS ultra-wideband Doherty reference design is extremely well suited for gap filler applications.”
As I noted back in November, this development could shake up the UHF transmitter market. NXP did not reveal which TV transmitter companies it was talking to, but I know of at least one major U.S. transmitter manufacturer that is looking at the device.
